Browsing by Author "Ramafikeng, Matumo"

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    Core Elements of an Activity Analysis in Occupational Therapy
    (2015-12-21) Ramafikeng, Matumo
    An activity analysis is a tool used by Occupational Therapists to assess suitability of an activity for use in treatment to facilitate attainment of therapy outcomes. Knowledge of activity analysis and developing the skill of conducting one is regarded as an important competency in Occupational Therapy. The Occupational Therapy students are introduced to activity analysis in the first year of study and then continue to accumulate more knowledge of the tool through overt instruction and application in an assignment in second year.
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    Occupation focused conceptual frameworks
    (2014-09-17) Ramafikeng, Matumo; Galvaan, Roshan; Van Niekerk, Lana
    Conceptual frameworks are the core concepts of occupational therapy thinking used in practice by occupational therapy students, therapists and scientists. This module is a continuation of what students have covered in second year study at the University of Cape Town where they covered generic conceptual frameworks. This OT-focused module is therefore aimed at such users and occupational therapy training institutions that could make use of the information contained in this module.
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    Perceptions of mental health care users on the contribution of the interactive groupwork model in occupational therapy groups to their recovery
    (2018) Davidson, Shanay; Duncan, Madeleine; Ramafikeng, Matumo
    Background Mental health disorders account for a significant portion of the burden of disease in South Africa and places a substantial strain on the national mental health care system. Mental health care policy and service trends advocate for client-centred practices, whereby the needs and perspectives of the population being served are taken into account in the design and delivery of interventions. Mental health disorders affect people’s performance of and participation in the occupations of daily life. The profession of occupational therapy (OT) values clientcentred practice and seeks to offer interventions that are closely aligned with the occupational and related recovery concerns of mental health care users (MHCUs). The Interactive Groupwork Model (IGM) is an unpublished, South African OT model that is used to guide groupwork interventions in mental health care settings. It serves as the basis for a position statement on the role and scope of the profession in groupwork issued by the Occupational Therapy Association of South Africa (OTASA, 2014). Research Problem To date there is little literature documenting service users’ perspectives on groupwork in occupational therapy within the South African context. In particular, there is no published South African research in occupational therapy regarding mental health service users’ (MHCU) perspectives on the contribution of groups run according to the IGM to their recovery. Research Purpose This study contributes to the refinement of the Interactive Groupwork Model as one of a number of approaches to groupwork used by occupational therapists in South Africa. The information gained from the research will assist in creating relevant group based programmes for mental health care users who get admitted to mental health services where occupational therapy groups based on the IGM are offered. Research Question How do mental health care users perceive the contribution of the IGM to their recovery? Research Aim To describe the perspectives of users of mental health services about the contribution of IGM used in occupational therapy, to their recovery within a specialised psychiatric unit. Research Objectives Describe the perspectives of MHCU’s on the benefits of IGM for their recovery Describe the perspectives of MHCU’s on the limitations of IGM for their recovery Describe the recommendations of MHCU’s on the refinement of the IGM iv Research Design & Methodology A descriptive qualitative design positioned in a social constructivist paradigm guided the study methodology. Purposive maximum variation sampling was used. Data was collected using semi structured interviews with seven mental health care users during an eight or twelve-week admission period, at different stages of their recovery and community re-entry. Data was audio recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis enabled the opinions of informants to be subcategorised and categorised. Ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy and justice were upheld throughout the research process. Findings Participants’ perspectives on the contribution of occupational therapy groups using the IGM to their recovery was reflected in a single theme: “helping me to navigate life while living with my illness”. The theme was supported by two categories: “learning though the group space” and “learning that the journey is never over”. The learning that occurred in each category was supported by five sub-categories, each reflecting a dimension of how IGM based occupational therapy groups helped participants towards recovery: “engaging in the activity”, “participating in the group process”, “experiencing the group structure”, “recognising personal shifts” and “acknowledging stuckness”. Conclusion The research provided practice based evidence of service user perspectives on occupational therapy groupwork using the IGM. The IGM is beneficial as a change modality as it assists MHCUs with self-learning and addresses the interpersonal aspect of recovery during the acute intervention phase. With refinements considering the occupational human, and embracing the recovery philosophy, the IGM may offer greater value to MHCUs by addressing broader occupational engagement concerns that extend post discharge. The relevance of the IGM to the post discharge recovery of MHCU warrants attention if occupational therapy is to play a role in supporting MHCUs to live meaningful and productive lives through occupation. Recovery from serious mental illness is a complex lifelong process that is facilitated when health care professionals collaborate with MHCUs. Revisions to the OTASA position statement are suggested in an attempt to ensure that the OTASA position statement on groupwork represents a broader understanding of groupwork in the profession and specifically in mental health.
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    The prevalence of health risk behaviours among high school learners in the city of Maseru, Lesotho
    (2010) Ramafikeng, Matumo; Galvaan, Roshan
    This study was the first of its nature in Lesotho. Engagement in health risk behaviours is a public health concern, due to the consequences thereof. Concurrent engagement in risk behaviours has severe consequences on health and occupational abilities of the youth. The aim of the study was to establish and document the prevalence of risk behaviours among high school learners in the city of Maseru, Lesotho.
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    Strategies that occupational therapists in the public health sector in KwaZulu-Natal use to navigate language discordance: a qualitative descriptive study
    (2022) Marshall, Emily; Ramafikeng, Matumo
    Background: Language discordance, a challenge of miscommunication between health professionals and service users, is a concern for occupational therapy, a profession that foregrounds a client-centred partnership. Occupational therapy literature highlights language discordance as one of the biggest challenges encountered when working in the rural public health sector. Language discordance affects the quality of health services which results in misdiagnosis, informed consent violations, decreased service user satisfaction and safety risks, among others. Occupational therapy is not immune to these negative consequences. In a country as linguistically diverse as South Africa, the need to find effective ways to navigate language discordance in occupational therapy health care, is crucial. However, there is limited literature on language discordance and the strategies used to resolve the issue. Aim: The aim of this study was to describe strategies that occupational therapists working in the public health sector in KwaZulu-Natal use to navigate language discordance and to understand the subsequent role that language discordance has on the quality of occupational therapy care. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative descriptive design using semi-structured interviews with eight participants recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings: Four themes emerged, namely; using various communication strategies concurrently, language definitely impacts that therapy process, factors perpetuating language discordance and I'm doing everything that I can, what more can I do? Conclusion: The impact of language discordance on the quality of occupational therapy care is undeniable. However, the participants showed agency in navigating language discordance using personal and institutional resources amidst the complexities of applying various strategies concurrently in order to provide the best care that they could.
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    The nature and enactment of African dance that produces neurogenic tremors
    (2021) Toto, Sivuyisiwe; Ramugondo, Elelwani; Ramafikeng, Matumo
    Distinctly African health-promoting human occupations are under-researched in occupational therapy. Many occupational therapy interventions used in South Africa have been developed elsewhere and may be inaccessible to many. African dance that produces neurogenic tremors (ADNT) is an occupation that may already be accessible to many, and a potential resource for health and could be used in occupational therapy. Research Question: What is the nature and enactment of ADNT? Aim: The study aimed to explore, describe and explain the nature and enactment of ADNT among professional dancers in Cape Town, South Africa. Research objectives: To explore the perceived temporal, spatial and sociocultural conditions conducive for ADNT. To describe and explain the enactment of ADNT in terms of format, pace, and the sequence of steps involved in performing African dance repertoires that are known to produce neurogenic tremors. To describe the experience of those who participate in ADNT by exploring the subjective effect it has had on stress levels or during stressful periods. Methodology: Case study methodology was used. Semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and participant observation were the data collection methods used. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Findings: Four themes emerged from the study (1) Triggers: Improvisation, Energy and pushing beyond limits. (2) Essence of self: Embodying Africa through dance. (3) Leaving and returning to the body and (4) Creatures of the soil: Connected to the ground and beyond…for health. Discussion: ADNT is healing, relational, transcendent, and contextually situated. It facilitates self-acceptance (ubuwena) through embodying Africa (KwaNtu) and holds potential to promote social cohesion (ubuntu). It is mainly enacted through improvisation (on and off-stage), through which socio-historical-cultural intergenerational resources (isintu) embedded within, are tapped into. ADNT offers opportunities for connectedness with the self, other people, as well as with transcendent beings. Conclusion: This study has illuminated the nature of ADNT as an extraordinary human occupation that offers participants instances of personal and collective meaning-making, healing, and transcendence. Transcendence is proposed as a source of personal and shared meaning.
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    “We have made it on the journey, but we have not yet arrived”: the right to education for learners with barriers to learning and disabilities through an inclusive lens
    (2019) Thaisi, Mapitso; Moult, Kelley &; Ramafikeng, Matumo
    Since 1994, there has been changes in education policies in South Africa and the push for more inclusive learning environments. Policies such as the White Paper 6 were developed to accommodate learners with disabilities and those with barriers to learning within mainstream education. However the link between policy and implementation is often blurred, especially in the instance of learners with disabilities attending mainstream schools. Many of these learners slip through the cracks of the education system without the necessary support and even drop out of schools in the absence efficient methods of identifying, assessing, referring and proving learners with the appropriate support. This research explored how two ordinary primary schools in Cape Town where assessing and providing support for learners with barriers to learning. Using a qualitative research method, the research chose the Metro Central Education District in Cape Town as the case for this study and conducted interviews with school teachers, occupational therapists and school based support staff members from an affluent school and a school from a low socio-economic area. The research found that schools did not have clear policies and guidelines in place to identify learners with barriers to learning. Furthermore, the findings revealed differences between the two schools and indicated that the school based in the affluent area had more support in place, while the school based in the poorer community, had less support in place. Thus, context shapes the type of support which schools can afford and ultimately how learners enjoy their rights to an education. The Department of Education needs to implement strategies that facilitate urgent implementation of inclusive education policies in schools.